The Veteran's unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder is rated at a maximum of 100 percent, effective March 15, 2021. The Veteran's tinnitus remains at a 10 percent rating.,The Veteran has been granted service connection for hepatitis C, but the Board finds that more evidence is needed to determine if it is related to his service-connected disabilities or directly due to his service.,Bilateral hearing loss was not rated higher than 10 percent. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss must be re-evaluated as part of this remand process.,The Veteran has been granted a TDIU, but the Board finds that more evidence is needed regarding his employment status and ability to work due to his service-connected disabilities.,Effective dates for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss have not yet been established. The Veteran must provide updated medical records and VA will determine appropriate effective dates based on these records.,The Veteran's TDIU claim is inextricably intertwined with the claims remaining on appeal, so appellate consideration of entitlement to a TDIU rating is deferred pending resolution of the remaining claims.
The deciding factor: More evidence is needed to determine if the Veteran's hepatitis C is related to his service-connected disabilities or directly due to his service.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder, hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23048671
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 23048671.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim for major depression to encompass any mental health disability raised by the record and has remanded six issues for additional development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for COPD, PTSD, hepatitis C, TDIU, and temporary total disability evaluation due to a failure to address his timely request for higher-level review of the July 2018 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for diabetes, gum disease, hypertension, orthopedic foot disorder, left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, hepatitis C, skin disorder of the feet (claimed as trench foot), and an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression and anxiety) due to errors in duty to assist.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder and unspecified depressive disorder with an effective date of September 23, 2011. The decision is based on newly received service medical records that were not available when the original claim was decided in January 2013.
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